The first edition of How Schools Change chronicled the efforts of three very different high schools to improve teaching and learning in the early 1990's. Now, in a new second edition, Wagner concisely summarizes the decade-long history of education reform efforts and revisits the three communities at the beginning of a new century.

The book is directed at all who are concerned with progressive school change and the promotion of democratic citizenship and social justice.

Ensure the success of your school change efforts with a proven five-step process that will strengthen working relationships among teachers, parents, and administrators.

Not long ago, public education in Ontario, Canada, was in deep trouble. Student achievement was stagnating, labor disruptions were rampant, and public satisfaction with the schools was low. In 2003, a new provincial government initiated a series of reforms that embodied a positive, outcome-focused agenda for public education. Today, student outcomes have improved, labor disruption has vanished, and teacher morale is high. In How to Change 5000 Schools, Ben Levin, former deputy minister of education for the province of Ontario, draws on his experience overseeing major systemwide education reforms in Canada and England to set forth a refreshingly positive, pragmatic, and optimistic approach to leading educational change at all levels. "This book provides a powerfully optimistic view of what can happen when policy makers, system leaders, and educators operate around common point of view about student learning and school improvement. This is important guidance for the next generation of school reform in the U.S. Every U.S. educator should read it." -- Richard F. Elmore, Gregory Anrig Professor of Educational Leadership, Harvard Graduate School of Education "How to Change 5000 Schools is a powerful, practical, realistic, deeply interesting account of the key ideas and strategies for raising the bar and closing the gap for all students in public school systems. Politicians and education reformers of all stripes will devour the ideas in this immensely rich and positive book." -- Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus, OISE/University of Toronto "Ben Levin draws on his considerable experience as a researcher and policymaker to outline a comprehensive theory of action for school reform. The scope of the book is quite breathtaking, the analysis is authoritative and its insight encourages one both to reflect and act. Written with passion, wisdom, and humanity, Levin's book will be essential reading for this and the next generation of educational change workers." -- David Hopkins, HSBC iNet Chair of International Leadership, Institute of Education, University of London Ben Levin holds a Canada Research Chair in Education Leadership and Policy at the University of Toronto. He recently completed a term as deputy minister for education for the province of Ontario. He is the author of numerous articles and three books and writes a regular column, "In Canada," for Phi Delta Kappan.

Actions to increase effectiveness of schools in a rapidly changing world Schools, in order to be nimble and stay relevant and impactful, need to abandon the rigid structures designed for less dynamic times. The NEW School Rules expands cutting-edge organizational design and modern management techniques into an operating system for empowering schools with the same agility and responsiveness so vital in the business world. 6 simple rules create a unified vision of responsiveness among educators Real life case studies illustrate responsive techniques implemented in a variety of educational demographics 15 experiments guide school and district leaders toward increased responsiveness in their faculty and staff

Genuine effective school improvement requires leaders and teachers to be part of a broad-based, creative change system that focuses on generating improved teacher practices for enhancing student learning. This guide provides a step-by-step, systemic approach.

This frank and courageous book explores the persistence of failure in today's urban schools. At its heart is the argument that most education policy discussions are disconnected from the daily realities of urban schools, especially those in poor and beleaguered neighborhoods. Charles M. Payne argues that we have failed to account fully for the weakness of the social infrastructure and the often dysfunctional organizational environments of urban schools and school systems. The result is that liberals and conservatives alike have spent a great deal of time pursuing questions of limited practical value in the effort to improve city schools. Payne carefully delineates these stubborn and intertwined sources of failure in urban school reform efforts of the past two decades. Yet while his book is unsparing in its exploration of the troubled recent history of urban school reform, Payne also describes himself as "guardedly optimistic." He describes how, in the last decade, we have developed real insights into the roots of school failure, and into how some individual schools manage to improve. He also examines recent progress in understanding how particular urban districts have established successful reforms on a larger scale. Drawing on a striking array of sources--from the recent history of various urban school systems, to the growing sophistication of education research, to his own experience as a teacher, scholar, and participant in reform efforts--Payne paints a vivid and unmistakably realistic portrait of urban schools and reforms of the past few decades. So Much Reform, So Little Change will be required reading for everyone interested in the plight--and the future--of urban schools.

This book is for educators who believe that schools need to be improved and are hopeful that real change can be achieved. The authors argue that if educators want to create more equitable, socially just, and learner-focused schools, then they need a more robust, transformational theory of school change—an UnCommon Theory. After describing the limits of current school improvement initiatives, the authors explain what is needed to actually engage in deeper school reinvention work. They take a deep dive into the most difficult work that school leaders do: questioning, rethinking, and reinventing the fundamental assumptions upon which our schools are built. The result is a practical book that provides readers with the knowledge and tools needed to do more than just tinker at the edges of school improvement. “This book will serve as a trusty coaching guide. The writing is clear and powerful.” —From the Foreword by Joseph P. McDonald, New York University “Educators contemplating or already on the journey of re-imagining their schools will find comfort and guidance to forge ahead.” —Carl Glickman, The University of Georgia “Can help each of us become the advocates for change that results in a better future for every student in every school.” —Douglas Fisher, San Diego State University “Will support educators to think differently about what it means to not only improve schools, but to move toward sustainable change.” —Kari Thierer, School Reform Initiative

Prospective college students and their parents have been relying on Loren Pope's expertise since 1995, when he published the first edition of this indispensable guide. This new edition profiles 41 colleges—all of which outdo the Ivies and research universities in producing performers, not only among A students but also among those who get Bs and Cs. Contents include: Evaluations of each school's program and "personality" Candid assessments by students, professors, and deans Information on the progress of graduates This new edition not only revisits schools listed in previous volumes to give readers a comprehensive assessment, it also addresses such issues as homeschooling, learning disabilities, and single-sex education.

"The greatest influence on school district improvement is the extent to which school leaders and teachers collectively transform climate, develop culture and build capacity for the purpose of creating coherence. Districts on the Move (DOTM) paved the way for system change by establishing coherent cultures of learning. Now that DOTM has been written and district leaders can establish the context for positive system change, this new book, Schools on the Move (SOTM), will delve into bringing that vision to life and realizing school improvement at the building level. At the heart of this matter is a foundational principle that schools are the unit of change for systemic improvement. It is imperative to reduce the variances in climate, culture, capacity and coherence that exist among and within school sites if school districts are to create a coherent system of continuous improvement. This book will provide practical tools and guidance to help schools create coherent systems (and thereby improve the whole district) in these four domains: 1. Shared Leadership: partnering with teachers and staff to develop a culture of co-learning 2. Clarity of Focus: creating a strategic focus on equitable student growth 3. Collective Expertise: developing instructional coherence through cycles of collaborative inquiry 4. Continuous Improvement: maintaining a focus on evidence and impact Collaborative inquiry is the vehicle through which this change is realized. Collaborative inquiry "shapes a common mindset" (Donohoo) and allows educators to develop collective efficacy through mastery of shared learning experiences"--